All working mothers know what it's like to be short on time and energy. Over the past two decades, I've discovered a few tricks to save on money, time and effort.
Are there any clean towels?
After a bath or shower, it's possible to towel off with only a small, dry wash cloth. This will eliminate larger loads of laundry, and perhaps save the environment!
Under the Rug
Buy only reversible throw rugs. Simply flip the rug over when one side gets dirty.
Write On!
Allowing dust to accumulate on furniture surfaces will provide a handy place to write notes to yourself or the family. Encourage everyone to have fun by playing hangman or tic-tac-toe!
This Really Sucks!
Do you own a Dyson or any other canister type vacuum? Letting dirt gather for up to 3 weeks in your carpets will make your sweeper seem even more powerful as you watch the canister fill up!
Go Green!
Leaving leftovers in the refrigerator for an extended period of time will speed up the decomposition process when moldy food items are added to compost. Also, isn't it possible your garden will be healthier if it has been on antibiotics?
The New Tie Dye
Boring white shirt? Leave it in the bottom of a damp clothes hamper for at least a week to give the shirt a permanent, speckled effect.
Community Sock Basket
Tired of matching socks? Just throw all the clean socks in one laundry basket, and let the family hunt for their own socks. Your children and possibly your husband will feel as if they are doing their share to help around the house.
I may add to this list over time. Feel free to share your own hints in the comment section!
17 comments:
lol, some are really funny! You know what? I actually have used a hand towel sometimes,
instead of a bathtowel to dry off with.....and then sometimes I have just 'drip-dryed!'
I think my wife my have been to your cleaning school!
We HAVE a community sock basket! But I make my 11 year match up 20 pairs every week or so, and that helps. We keep them in a basket in the linen closet.
At first glance, I thought #2 said "invisible" throw rugs, which are also easy to keep clean.
Cat hair has to be good for something.
Are you the mystery author of 'Bachelor Housekeeping"?
"Letting dirt gather for up to 3 weeks" - If my floor got cleaned every three weeks then it would be something of a miracle - I like to keep it at about once evry two months
.won tnemmoc 'laer' ym daer nac uoy os ni kcab gol dna ffo gol ll'I .rerolpxE tenretnI esu I nehw taht od t'nseod ti esuaceb ,xoferiF gnisu htiw od ot gnihtemos sah ti kniht I .ti etaicerppa yllaerdluow I taht htiw tuo em pleh dluoc enoemos fI .sdrawkcab gnipyt si draobyek ym yhw eulc ON evah I ,lla fo tsriF
Did you get all that?! Read it backwards starting at the bottom... it only does that when I use Firefox. I'm thinking it may have something to do with a certain 2 yr old or 3 yr old banging away on the keyboard...
ANYWAY.
I am a BIG fan of Write On and This Really Sucks! I LOATHE dusting and I do have a Dyson. Sucking up more dirt some how helps me justify spending $550.
Judy, I gotta tell ya. Last night I dried my hands on the jeans I wore yesterday, which were in the hamper.
Nautilus, whew. I was feeling pretty alone there for a while.
Kate, yay! Thank you for your support!
intelliwench, true!
wildstorm, I'll have to think on that one.
Lerm, if only. I'd like to be the author of anything...other than a blog, I mean. And of course you're excused the matter of the floor, simply because you're a bachelor.
Marchelle, I did! When it comes to words, I can labor through anything. I'm so glad you totally get the Dyson thing. It's gratifying to see that much crap coming out of the floor. Oh, and I can't help you with the Firefox thing, but maybe someone else can.
Marchelle: This seems to be due to a problem with Java, which many people blame on a recent applet for uploading pictures to Facebook (though this isn’t the only applet to cause the problem).
Try disabling Java in Firefox (Tools > Options > Content > Enable Java) temporarily. Try updating to the latest version of Java. Try removing Java from your computer altogether (unless you use Java applets, you don’t need it: I don’t have it installed at all).
Click on this link to Firefox Support for further information.
I am reading a book called THE MEANING OF WIFE. The chapter I am on right now is talking about how in the early 2000's we started to really glamorize housekeeping, again, to the point that some very expensive magazines said that a luxe laundry room was the perfect gift. Oddly, as much as I would love a "luxe" laundry room, I would not want it as a gift.
A luxe laundry room? pfft. My washer and dryer are on the back porch, where it's cold in the winter and sweltering in the summer, and I'm likely to trip over a cat while carrying in a heaping basket of clothes. I could probably fold the clothes there, on an old desk made by Rubbermaid, but it's covered with cat hair.
One of my favorites is the glass-full-of-unknown-substances-left-in-the-daughter's-bedroom for an undetermined length of time, experiment. We considered it our contribution to microbiology and green science.
j, I know that particular field of study! My favorite culture is milk.
...ah, we know one another's pain.
i love this list!
I do love the list! HOWEVER, you know how mom and me are. We don't do well with dust and stuff. I dust/sweep twice a week. I clean out the fridge constantly..and the cabinets. Yeah the socks..I have to match them all up and they are stacked in nice rows in the dresser draws....I know I know.. I'm weird.
And I thought Marchelle was speaking in some foreign language there!
Lindsay
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